Francesco Totti signed off a successful 2007 with both goals as Roma beat Sampdoria 2-0 to send a signal to champions Internazionale that they are very much in the race for this season's Scudetto.
Totti opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 17 minutes and the sending-off of Samp stalwart Sergio Volpi further tilted the balance towards the men from the Eternal City.
Totti rounded things off with his second in the last minute to cap a year where he has been exemplary for Roma, having finished "capocannoniere" (Serie A top scorer) last season.
Samp's Claudio Bellucci forced an early save from Alexander Doni but at the other end Luca Castellazzi had to save from Marco Cassetti.
Roma got their penalty after 17 minutes when Matteo Ferrari was fouled in the area, and Totti volunteered for duty converting the spot-kick with a craftily-chipped shot.
Totti was denied a second by his own poor control and then was pipped to the ball by Castellazzi.
At the other end Christian Maggio forced Doni into a save at the expense of a corner.
Castellazzi was the busier of the goalkeepers again when he saved to deny Daniele De Rossi after the Italy World Cup winner fired in a shot from distance.
Castellazzi was working overtime, foiling Mirko Vucinic and then diving at the feet of Simone Perrotta.
At the other end, Doni had an easy make to save from a weak header by Emiliano Bonazzoli.
Early in the second half, David Pizarro saw his free-kick whistle over the Samp crossbar.
The game took a turn for the worse for Samp when Volpi got his marching orders for a rash challenge on Perrotta - a foul deemed worthy of a second yellow card.
De Rossi's deflected shot was well saved by Castellazzi but Alessandro Mancini should have done better when he had only the goalkeeper to beat, watching his shot skim past the post.
To their credit, Samp did not let the sending-off of Volpi inhibit their attacking game plan and Doni made a vital save to deny an equaliser from Andrea Caracciolo.
Roma survived that scare and all that remained was for Totti to seal the win.
He delivered the coup de grace in stoppage time when he scored after good approach play for Cassetti.
The captain, who is considering making himself available again for Italy in Euro 2008, had time for one more crack at a hat-trick but his free-kick went straight into the wall.
The victory helped Roma trim Inter's lead to four points although the champions could make that seven by winning Sunday's derby with city rivals AC Milan.
Totti rounded things off with his second in the last minute to cap a year where he has been exemplary for Roma, having finished "capocannoniere" (Serie A top scorer) last season.
Samp's Claudio Bellucci forced an early save from Alexander Doni but at the other end Luca Castellazzi had to save from Marco Cassetti.
Roma got their penalty after 17 minutes when Matteo Ferrari was fouled in the area, and Totti volunteered for duty converting the spot-kick with a craftily-chipped shot.
Totti was denied a second by his own poor control and then was pipped to the ball by Castellazzi.
At the other end Christian Maggio forced Doni into a save at the expense of a corner.
Castellazzi was the busier of the goalkeepers again when he saved to deny Daniele De Rossi after the Italy World Cup winner fired in a shot from distance.
Castellazzi was working overtime, foiling Mirko Vucinic and then diving at the feet of Simone Perrotta.
At the other end, Doni had an easy make to save from a weak header by Emiliano Bonazzoli.
Early in the second half, David Pizarro saw his free-kick whistle over the Samp crossbar.
The game took a turn for the worse for Samp when Volpi got his marching orders for a rash challenge on Perrotta - a foul deemed worthy of a second yellow card.
De Rossi's deflected shot was well saved by Castellazzi but Alessandro Mancini should have done better when he had only the goalkeeper to beat, watching his shot skim past the post.
To their credit, Samp did not let the sending-off of Volpi inhibit their attacking game plan and Doni made a vital save to deny an equaliser from Andrea Caracciolo.
Roma survived that scare and all that remained was for Totti to seal the win.
He delivered the coup de grace in stoppage time when he scored after good approach play for Cassetti.
The captain, who is considering making himself available again for Italy in Euro 2008, had time for one more crack at a hat-trick but his free-kick went straight into the wall.
The victory helped Roma trim Inter's lead to four points although the champions could make that seven by winning Sunday's derby with city rivals AC Milan.
Copyright (c) Press Association
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